In an effort to lower market demand for rice, the government is exploring the option of directly supplying rice to poor Filipinos instead of providing them with cash grants.

Agriculture Undersecretary Roger Navarro said that his department and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) are considering the potential conversion of a portion of the cash grants for Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries into rice supply.

Navarro said that the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the DSWD are finalizing the specifics of the proposal to ensure that poor Filipinos are not compelled to purchase rice at high market prices.

He also said that by doing so, government could ease demand for rice in the market by 20 percent, lowering inflationary pressure.

The 4Ps provides benefits to households below the provincial poverty threshold; have children under the age of 18 or a pregnant member in the family; or those who meet the conditions within the 4Ps.

Despite the ample rice supply due to bumper harvest and importations which came in early this year, Navarro said that reducing prices is still a challenge, stating that “the cost of grain even in Vietnam and Thailand, have also gone up to P48 and P52 per kilo.”

Vietnam and Thailand are two of the Philippines’ major rice suppliers.

“The challenge is not the price of rice but more of stabilizing supply,” he added.

Pushing rice prices down will be difficult, the DA said, now that demand rose after India’s export ban on non-basmati rice affects supply, 

Prolonged effects of El Niño, higher fertilizer expenses, and other farm inputs were also seen as the large factors determining the high rice prices.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) recorded a sharp decrease in inflation, marking 3.9 percent in December down to 2.8 percent because of the lower costs of food, transport, and utilities.

Food, beverage and tobacco account for 74.5 percent of the basket of goods consumed by the bottom 30 percent of Filipino households—the poorest of the poor who are main beneficiaries of government’s 4Ps program.

Of that consumer basket, rice accounts for 17.87 percentage points—double the weight in the basket of goods for all income households at 8.87 percent.

In terms of supply, the country consumes about 37,000 metric tons (MT) of rice daily and will need 300,000 tons monthly to meet its supplemental local production.

“As of Wednesday, we have imported 590,000 metric tons that will complement local output when harvest season starts in the coming months,” Navarro shared.

The DA noted that the country was able to harvest 20 million MT of rice and was able to minimize importation. To compare, rice imports in 2022 weighed 3.8 million MT, while in 2023 accounted for 3.5 million MT.